A group of 29 veteran students are welcoming incoming Arkansas Tech University freshmen and their parents to campus during summer registration in an effort to make the transition from high school to college a more pleasant and less stressful experience.

The Arkansas Tech Ambassadors are students who serve as official hosts for incoming freshmen as they visit campus this summer to register for classes and learn about life on campus.

“I love getting to meet all sorts of faces,” said Piper Veazey, a senior member of the Arkansas Tech Ambassador staff. “The students that I meet will one day be where I am now, so I enjoy seeing the progression in the students. It is such a fun experience.”

To be selected as an Arkansas Tech Ambassador, a student must be involved on campus, perform well academically and have excellent interpersonal skills.

This is the first year for the expanded Arkansas Tech Ambassador program, which includes advising and then a tour. It takes about two-and-a-half hours for the entire program, one hour for advising and 90 minutes for the tour.

“The goal of the program is to make each student feel welcome and ensure they have the information they need to be successful during their first year,” said Will Cooper, coordinator of retention services in the Arkansas Tech Office of Student Success.

An average day for the Arkansas Tech Ambassador program involves assisting approximately 55 new students.

The incoming students are introduced to a professional advisor, who provides them with a one-on-one academic advising session.

“My job is to advise the students on what classes to take and make sure they have a choice in what time they want classes, if that option is available,” said Marika Lederman, one of the full-time academic advisors in the Roy and Christine Sturgis Academic Advising Center. “I make sure that the students know where their classes are. Once that is done, I introduce them to a student ambassador.”

After the advising session, incoming freshmen and their parents take a brief tour that includes a visit to the campus post office. The new Tech students also receive their identification card from the Office of Student Accounts.

Once that process is completed, the students are led to Doc Bryan Student Services Center room 247 for an opportunity to learn about the various online portals they will utilize to communicate with their professors and fellow students once classes begin in the fall. The final part of the tour deals with the students taking two assessments.

The first is the Focus 2. It identifies careers and majors to fit the interests of the students. It helps students choose their major and make informed decisions about their career.

The second assessment is called the College Student Inventory, which helps students consider their social and financial readiness for college.

While the students are taking the assessments, if their parents are present they are invited to join the Arkansas Tech Parents Association so they can stay up-to-date with their son or daughter. The parents are also offered refreshments and a chance to look around campus with an ambassador.

After the completion of the assessments, each student is assigned a Bridge to Excellence (B2E) mentor. B2E mentors are volunteer faculty and staff members who work with students throughout their first year of college, and often times beyond, to ensure they are making a successful transition and remaining on track to earn their degree.